The Incredibly Strange Creatures That Stopped Living and Became Mixed up with the Starbarians (part I)
Watch on Newgrounds • Watch on YouTube |name = The Incredibly Strange Creatures That Stopped Living and Became Mixed up with the Starbarians (part I) |release = 19 September 2013 |length = • 4 minutes 2 seconds • 4 minutes 9 seconds |notes = • Partly funded by HuHa! • The first of a story arc to be continued in future episodes |credits = • Harry Partridge (writer, director, voice actor, lead animator) • Joyce Oder (background colourist) • Brian Sadler (musician) • Marianne Miller (voice actress for Zoa) • Emma-Louise Wakley, Marion Bricaud (assistant animators) • Brandon Clark, Jake Ganz, Cal Moray, Audrey Kare, Joel Cheetham (YOTTA animation assistance) |prev = Episode 1.5 |next = Episode 3 (April Fools) }} "The Incredibly Strange Creatures That Stopped Living and Became Mixed up with the Starbarians (part I)" is the second episode of Starbarians. Following an unexpectedly long time in development, the episode was released on YouTube on 19 September 2013'YouTube': STARBARIANS - Episode 2 and on Newgrounds a week later on 26 September 2013.Newgrounds: Starbarians - Episode 2 The episode is the first part of a four-episode story arc; as of 2019, only part II has also been released, with parts III and IV still in development despite a targeted release date of 2019.Newgrounds: STARBARIANS EPISODE 3 IS OUT (also...Patreon) Development The second episode of Starbarians was first confirmed to be in production by Harry Partridge in a YouTube comment.Image: Starbarians Episode 1 Episode 2 tease.png It was originally expected to be released in August 2012 but was pushed back to September after "a nutty busy few months".Facebook: So I don't like... Later, Partridge expressed further doubt over whether it would be done by then.Image: Episode 2 release date (The Starbarians' Die YouTube comments).pngTwitter message: So I told people that Starbarians ... In a Facebook update posted on his 25th birthday, Partridge said he aims to publish more content more frequently in the future, starting with the release of Episode 2. He further said, "Monthly videos are something I can strive for at the very least, and though I've barely started, Starbarians Episode 2 within the next month would be a great way to kick off with more regular content", and that "It will be longer, funnier and smarter than the first with a far better grip on who the characters are". On 2 September 2012 Partridge livestreamed production of the episode,Twitter message: I am currently livestreaming ... animating two large troll-like beings swinging a dead warrior out of an arena. After the livestream finished, he said there would be more livestreams in the future as it helped keep him focused.Twitter message: Livestream is over! Thanks ... On 1 November 2012, a still was posted via Twitter,Twitter message: A sneaky-peaky still from...Twitpic image: A sneaky-peaky still from Starbarians Episode II and as of mid-November, multiple livestreams have been cast. On 17 November 2012, Partridge called out to animators, requesting those who were interested in helping out in doing paid work on the next Starbarians episode to join YOTTA, a freelance service that specialises in animation assist.Twitter message: Animators! Interested in doing... Necessary qualifications included:YOTTA Tumblr post: YOTTA Animation Crew | Interested in working on some of our current... The application process ended on 24 November.Twitter message: Starbarians/Hellbenders project...YOTTA Tumblr post: YOTTA Animation Crew | Starbarians/Hellbenders project recruitment complete! On 31 January 2013, some footage of the episode was included in a 2013 teaser by Partridge.YouTube: 2013 Teaser In the video description of "Episode 1.5", which was released on 4 March 2013, Partridge wrote, "I didn't want a whole year to pass without new ''Starbarians stuff and hope it won't be anywhere near as long in the future''" and mentioned that this episode "is coming out at over twice as long as Starbarians' Die"".YouTube: STARBARIANS - Episode 1.5 On 11 May 2013, Partridge wrote in a Facebook update that after realising that it had currently taken him five months to develop the episode, he decided to animate an unrelated short called "Outsider". After finishing a commission at the end of May, Partridge affirmed that he'd be returning to work on finishing the episode and "Outsider".Facebook: Harry Partridge - Here is a brand new cartoon "DR. BEES" ... It was revealed on 18 June 2013 that Partridge had been offered a financial incentive to host the episode on another YouTube channel; having had a tough fiscal period and after consulting with his fans on Twitter, he decided that he was ultimately going to "probably" go ahead with it.Twitter: Been offered a way to end one ...Twitter: Has thrown me in to quite a ...Twitter: I'll probably go ahead with ... On 10 August 2013, Partridge hinted with the inclusion of a screenshot that the episode would be released in just a few more days. On 16 August 2013, it was announced that the episode would be the first of two parts, the episode was "in the sound and lipsync stage" and that half of episode three has been completed.Twitter: Starbarians Episode 2 will ...Twitter: Just to manage expectations ... Two images of the episode were posted following the announcement: one on 3 September 2013'Twitter': I am getting so tired of this ... and another on 10 September 2013.Twitter: Techno spears, for primitive ... On 12 September 2013, Partridge stated that besides "a few sound effects and a lot of rendering", the episode was completed.Twitter: Beside a few sound effects ... The episode was finished on the following day.Twitter: Starbarians Ep II is finished, ... Partridge posted a Newgrounds blog update alongside the Twitter announcement which went into more detail: the episode would be roughly four minutes long – similar in length to "the 3-4 minute standard set by the first episode". The script ultimately ended up being three times as long as originally anticipated, "which dragged the process out horribly", and he plans to "release as many episodes as is neccessary [sic] to tell this story which aims to conclude by the years end". Furthermore, as first noted in June, Partridge revealed that the episode was partly funded by the YouTube animation channel HuHa! and that it would be posted on their channel "some time soon" and on Newgrounds a week after.Newgrounds: UPD8 The episode was ultimately released on YouTube (on HuHa!'s channel) on 19 September 2013 and on Newgrounds a week later. The events will be continued in the next episode, and perhaps conclude in a fourth episode if the script is truly triple its initial length. Finance On 22 November 2012, Partridge expressed curiosity in whether people would rather pay $5 to watch a long cartoon rather than him starting a Kickstarter campaign, as it would potentially allow him to make a 45 minute Starbarians cartoon. He was considering this because the development of this current episode had already spanned three months and had at least another month's worth of work left; he stated it was the most ambitious thing he'd ever attempted, and paying for assistants and help had taken him "into the red".Twitter message: This cartoon has taken me three...Twitter message: I've also gone in to the red...Twitter message: The animation on a long cartoon...Twitter message: It beats doing a lame kickstarter... He considered charging for future cartoons that were twenty minutes or longer and asked his fans what they thought. Harry stated that he did not get the positive response that he'd hoped for, and ended by saying "Time will tell, but I can't spend more money on hiring help than I make in return".Twitter message: Hmm, didn't get the positive... Plot A massive spaceship lands on an undeveloped primitive planet; exiting, the hostile invaders introduce themselves as the Eternoids and proclaim to the planet's peaceful denizens that their planet is now the Eternoids' new homeworld. The Eternoids then proceed to effortlessly and ruthlessly slay a few of the natives who attempt to fight back. When a female, Zoa, asks why the Eternoids are attacking them, the Eternoid leader states cryptically, "You have no idea. But if this world is as wretched as you say, what kind of fools will come to help you?" Aboard The DD Rex, Hogstrong and Killgar decide to go on a mission after Killgar finds they are running low on their supply of meat. The two watch an advertisement for the galaxy-wide gladiator tournament Gladius and, their interest piqued, decide to head there. As they ready themselves, they miss an urgent mission prompt from the primitive planet desperately requesting help. Transcript Scene 1 Scene 2 Video descriptions ;Newgrounds :SO HEY THIS TOOK A WHILE, HUH?? :Over a year ago I started animating a very long script which I intended to be episode 2. Lots of footage was animated (lots more than seen here) but ultimately I decided to split it in to parts to start sharing it with the world. So, this episode 2 is PART ONE of a several episode story. I can't promise when the next installment will arrive but I'M ON IT. :Harry ;YouTube :It's HERE!! Episode 2 of Starbarians! :... :The incredibly strange creatures that stopped living and became mixed up with the Starbarians... Part One! :Animated by Harry Partridge: :www.youtube.com/user/HarryPartridge :... :ABOUT STARBARIANS: :Barbarians of the stars! Gladiators of the universe! Animated by Harry Partridge. Cut content Two fully animated scenes were ultimately removed from the episode before its release, but Partridge stated that they were so short that he didn't mind about their removal. An animated .gif was posted of the first removed scene,Twitter: One of the two shots for Starbarians... and the second was said to be "a close-up of some pupils moving";Twitter: The other shot was a close-up... both scenes involve the woman Killgar is seen having sex with briefly in the final episode and, when asked why the scenes were removed, Partridge answered that he did "have something planned for her character and it didn't fit. She should be unhappy about her situation, not bored."Twitter: I have something planned for her character... An early version of the plot featured a subplot over a character named Mectarr, in fact being three midgets in disguise.Twitter: More evidence of my woeful planning and ... The character was fully voiced and a considerable amount of animation was completed, too. Footage uploaded on Twitter shows Killgar crudely eating a sandwich filled with the midgets' heads, indicating they Mectarr may have been an antagonist.Twitter: A considerable amount of animation was done too! I'm ... Reception Prior to its release, on 25 February 2013, Rondal of StrangeKidsClub described Starbarians as "a parody/love letter to cartoons from the 80s ... from the gleefully twisted mind of animator Harry Partridge", and remained hopeful about the episode regarding its lengthy development.StrangeKidsClub.com: Monday Morning Videomania #25: Fox Goes Retro, Starbarians Rule, Meet Buck Aaron of ColdHardFlash, who previously positively remarked on "Episode 1.5",ColdHardFlash.com: Hunt Down and Capture a New Starbarians Episode stated that "the animation is TV-quality, and it’s damn funny too".ColdHardFlash.com: Starbarians Blast Off in 2nd Episode Retrohelix's brief overview lauded the episode, stating that he "went there for the humor, but stayed for the boobs", while also noting his surprise that it hadn't "gone viral yet".RetroHelix.com: STARBARIANS – Episode 2 (and 1.5 because I forgot about it) Trivia * Marianne Miller was thanked by Partridge via Twitter prior to the release of the episode, thus revealing her work for the episode but not her role (Miller voiced Zoa).Twitter: @mariannemiller Happy birthday!! ... ** Prior to this episode, Miller had also voiced the newsreader in "Episode 1.5". * Due to the episode being uploaded to HuHa!'s channel as opposed to Partridge's (because of HuHa!'s funding), Partridge released a video entitled "GO WATCH: STARBARIANS - Episode 2" on his own channel, directing his viewers to go and watch the episode.YouTube: GO WATCH: STARBARIANS - Episode 2 * A scene in this episode recalls a similar scene in the animatic, in which Killgar is seen casually having sex with a woman whilst eating meat from a plate resting on her back. In the animatic, she can also be seen giving Killgar fellatio when the scene zooms out to Hogstrong in the cockpit,Image: Animatic Killgar and Hogstrong.png whereas in this episode the scene completely changes view when cutting to Hogstrong. * The episode is censored on both YouTube and Newgrounds: when Killgar is having sex with an unnamed woman, a blur can be seen below. Starbarians is no stranger to censorship on YouTube, but it may be considered surprising that the blur is also present on Newgrounds, especially when a screenshot posted a little over a month before the episode was released lacked any kind of censor. ** The French dub of the episode, which is also uploaded on YouTube, is not censored, though it does have a censored thumbnail.YouTube: STARBARBARES ep. 2 - ft. Les Joueurs du Grenier, Bob Lennon, Benzaie & Chacha de Lilla ** Incidentally, the image of the censored scene from this episode was deleted from this wiki by Wikia admins. * The two Starbarians find their missions on a database called Kargslist, a parody of Craigslist.Image: Episode 2 Kargslist.png ** Before Hogstrong brings up the aforementioned database, he minimizes a window. The text on the left of the window reads, "Gamma Sector Alpha 9. Techno gibberish no one will ever read. It just needs to look like something.", while the text on the right, underneath three orange bars, reads, "Some orange things".Image: Episode 2 screen.png Gallery Video References Category:Episodes